The Wings finished with a 41-32-9 record (91 points), seven points ahead of Buffalo.
The Buffalo Sabres took a step back after barely missing the playoffs in 2023, finishing seven points out of the final Eastern Conference wildcard spot with a 39-37-6 record (84 points). The regression cost head coach Don Granato his job and put more pressure on GM Kevyn Adams to snap the league’s longest playoff drought of 13 seasons.
Adams brought back veteran head coach Lindy Ruff to stress accountability and has made trades and free agent signings to remedy the Sabres depth and defensive issues, but the question now is whether they are as good or better than their competition in the Eastern Conference.
The Detroit Red Wings made a series of free agent signings in hopes of snapping their long playoff drought, but in spite of tying in points with Washington for the last Eastern Conference wild-card spot, the Wings missed the postseason once again because the Capitals had more regulation wins. Unlike last summer, when GM Steve Yzerman went on a shopping spree, trading for Alex DeBrincat and Jeff Petry, and signing JT Compher, Ben Chiarot, Justin Holl, Alex Lyon, and Patrick Kane, Detroit was relatively quiet by comparison, signing two-time Cup winner Vladimir Tarasenko to replace the departed David Perron, blueliner Erik Gustafsson to replace Shayne Gostisbehere, and adding veteran goalies Cam Talbot and Jack Campbell.
Forwards
Detroit boasts a balanced scoring attack with captain Dylan Larkin, DeBrincat and young Swede Lucas Raymond. Kane scored at nearly a point-per-game pace in 50 games. Head coach Derek Lalonde has a collection of solid two-way forwards in Compher, Andrew Copp, Joe Veleno, and Michael Rasmussen. Still, the departure of Perron (17 goals), Daniel Sprong (18 goals), and Robby Fabbri (18 goals) could hamper their offense. The Sabres are stronger up the middle with Tage Thompson, Dylan Cozens, and the offseason additions of Ryan McLeod and Beck Malenstyn, and their additions in the bottom six give them a slight advantage over Detroit.
Defense
Moritz Seider is one of the best young defensemen in the NHL and Yzerman will have to get him signed this summer. Ben Chiarot, Petry, and Olli Maatta are solid veterans, but losing Gostisbehere (who led them in defensive scoring with 56 points) and Jake Walman, and adding only the defensively challenged Gustafsson will not help. Detroit will be hoping that young prospect Simon Edvinsson is ready to step in. Seider is an equal to the Sabres top three of Rasmus Dahlin, Owen Power, and Bowen Byram, but Buffalo has more depth and quality on the blueline, giving them a distinct advantage.
Goaltending
Yzerman rolled the dice and came up snake eyes with Ville Husso, and only made a run to the playoffs on the back of Alex Lyon. Talbot is at best a tandem goalie after failing as a starter with Los Angeles, and Campbell is likely heading to Grand Rapids to be a mentor to goalie-of-the-future Sebastian Cossa.
In spite of the uncertainty that Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen can repeat his 2024 performance and that Devon Levi can achieve a level of consistency that evaded him as a rookie, the Sabres have less question marks with their tandem than Detroit does.
Outlook
Detroit barely missed last season, and they appear to have taken a step back this offseason. Yzerman has to be hoping that some of the Wings prospects can fill some holes. They will likely be in that bubble group of five or six teams along with the Sabres battling for the Eastern Conference wildcard spots, but they could be at the bottom of that group unless their goaltending performs better than many would expect.
